Angel With A Crossbow
by Reader128
Summary: Daryl has a secret that no one, not even Merle knows. Will he reveal it when Beth gets kidnapped? Will he get her back? (Wingfic)
1. Angel With A Shotgun by The Cab

**Disclaimer: I don't own TWD or any of the characters. I'm just playing with them on a whim.**

**A.N.: Technically, this story has nothing to do with the song "Angel with a Shotgun" though I did have it stuck in my head while I was writing it. This story was inspired more by this picture: data3. whicdn images/ 71505785/ large. jpg I don't know who drew it, but I have this to say to that artist: I have nothing but respect for your obvious skills. I got the picture off Google after Deviantart refused to load.**

She was being taken. That's all he could think… she was being taken. As soon as he saw the car driving off, he knew that he wouldn't be able to catch it… not by running. What he was about to do was something that no one knew. It was the secret that he had guarded even from Merle. He had found out when he was ten. Merle was in juvie, his mom was gone, and no one noticed when he was gone for days at a time. Trial and error helped him learn that it could be hidden. He ran back to her backpack and quickly put his jacket and shirt inside before putting it on his back, and then he let them out. He hadn't let his wings out in months… not since the last time he went alone on a hunt. In seconds, they were fully extended. Over six feet in length, his wings stretched out over his head before he started running. He quickly jumped into the air. Running, he probably would've already lost the car… flying, he could easily outpace it. He could fly all night and well into the next day as well… running would tire him out in a couple of hours. Beth was counting on him to keep her safe, and he would do everything in his power to do just that, even give up his secret.

Quickly, he caught up to the car. They were driving fast, and he was determined to not let them get to their destination. He flew ahead of them just a bit and landed in the middle of the road, crossbow at the ready and wings stretched out with the tips pointed towards the sky… looking like an avenging angel out for blood. The car screeched to a stop ten feet from where he stood, and a large man slowly got out, holding his hands up as if to show that he was unarmed.

"Where's the girl?" Daryl growled. "I know you took her."

The man, a preacher of some sort based on his clothes, reached slowly into the car and opened the trunk while stuttering, "I'm sorry, I didn't know she had God's protection. I thought she…."

"Stay there," Daryl told him, walking slowly around the man with his wings folded up against his back and keeping the crossbow on him at all times. When he looked into the trunk, he noticed that Beth had been knocked out and wasn't moving, so he asked, "What did you do to her?"

"Chloroform. I couldn't have her yelling. It would've brought them back outside," the man stated, clearly terrified.

"Why'd you take her?"

The man obviously didn't want to answer, but Daryl's crossbow made him rethink that decision, "She is living in sin and must be punished. She travels with a man and yet has no wedding ring. Now that he has been punished, it is her turn."

"You sent the walkers into the house?" Daryl's eyes narrowed even further.

"They were there to punish…."

"You tried to kill us?"

"Daryl?" Beth mumbled, not quite awake.

"Can you stand?" Daryl asked without moving his eyes from the preacher.

"I don't think so," she said, trying to sit up.

"She should be…," the preacher started before Daryl interrupted.

"If you say that she needs to be punished one more time, I'm gonna put an arrow in your eye. Beth, make sure you have everything. We're gonna get out of here."

Beth felt around and made sure she had her knives. She almost started panicking until she remembered that she had been forced to drop her backpack before she was drugged. Finally, she nodded at Daryl, "I think I've got everything."

"Alright, move over there," he told the preacher, motioning towards the far side of the road a good twenty feet away from the car.

Daryl leaned over Beth and put one arm behind her, letting her lean against him while she sat up the rest of the way. Then, he handed her his crossbow and lifted her out of the trunk.

The preacher, seeing what was going on, started to move towards them as if to stop Daryl, "You can't take her! She is…."

"She is mine!" Daryl stated, flaring out his wings.

"Daryl, when did you get wings?" Beth asked, still slightly slurring her words.

"I'll tell ya when we find somewhere safe. Hold onto my crossbow," he told her, preparing to take off.

"You… you're the man she was with… I tried to kill… what are you?" the preacher asked, quietly panicking.

"If you come near us again, I'll be the man who kills you," Daryl stated, taking a step and then launching himself into the air.

He flew over the woods, keeping low near the treetops. He didn't want anyone to see him with his wings out. Flying slowly, he searched the woods for a place to stay that would be relatively safe. He spotted a small campfire, but it was surrounded by men who were fighting. He couldn't hear the words, but he saw them attack one of their own as he flew around them, so he knew he had to get far away from them. Continuing on until it was almost dawn, he finally spotted a small cabin far away from the campfire and near the road. He didn't see anyone on the road, but he circled the area a couple of times before he landed just to be sure. Beth, who had drifted back to sleep just after he took off, had been awake for a couple of hours, so he sat her down and got his crossbow back. Since he knew that she wanted answers about his wings, he left them out as he led the way to the cabin. They made sure it was clear of walkers before they set up alarms, boarded up the windows, and blocked the only door. Once they got settled on the floor, Daryl took the backpack off (he had to unhook the straps), and they ate a can of green beans they found in the cabin (there were rows of canned vegetables that had somehow not been looted along one wall). Once they finished eating, Daryl waited for the questions he knew were coming.

Finally, Beth picked one, "How long have you had wings and how did you find out you had them?"

"I got 'em when I was ten. I was climbin' a tree to get a squirrel and fell. I must've been eighty feet up, thought I was gonna die. They appeared before I hit the ground. I spent the next week figuring out how they work and how to hide them. When I went back home, I just didn't tell anyone, even Merle. You're the first person that's seen 'em."

"Does it hurt when you hide them or bring them out?"

"Nah, it just itches somethin' fierce."

"Why didn't you tell anyone about them?"

"It wasn't any of their business. Over time, it just became habit. I don't let them out much, just when I'm huntin' alone. They'd be easy for a walker to get a hold on."

"Why'd you tell me now?"

"I couldn't catch the car if I ran. Flying, I can go a lot faster. I don't get as tired neither."

"How much can you carry?"

"I've carried a buck for a few miles before, but nothin' heavier."

Beth finally asked the one question she had really wanted to ask, "Can I touch them?"

Expecting this, he just nodded and turned so his back was towards her. She reached out and gently ran her hand along the top of one wing. The feathers felt like a bird's and were the same dark brown color as Daryl's hair, though in the dark they had looked black. As she touched the feathers, she noticed some of them were out of place and started fixing them, drawing on everything her daddy had taught her about birds to make sure she didn't hurt him. Daryl jumped slightly when she first started, but he relaxed into the touch after she had finished with the first one. Eventually, she had them all fixed and sat back. Daryl had almost nodded off where he was sitting… he had been awake all day and had flown all night carrying her. Add all of that into weeks of exhaustion, and it was amazing that he was still awake. She nudged him up off the floor and pushed him into the bed room where he lay down without complaint for once (usually, he would argue with her until she took the bed). She then moved back into the living room and lay down on the couch… a few hours of drug induced napping doesn't help exhaustion that much. In a few hours, the two of them would get up, pack up as much food and supplies as they could carry in Daryl's backpack and in a backpack she had seen in the other room, and leave the small cabin to try and find the rest of their family. Hopefully, she could convince Daryl to stretch his wings a bit more often. She had really enjoyed flying, and maybe he could see someone they knew from the sky instead of looking from the ground. After all, they had almost missed the prison because of a single line of trees. As she slipped into sleep, one image stayed with her… the image of Daryl standing next to the open trunk, wings flared out defiantly, and crossbow pointed at the kidnapper… an image of her angel with a crossbow.


	2. War by Poets of the Fall

**A.N.: As with the first story in this set, this one is based off a song I love… this time, it's "War" by Poets of the Fall. There is an amazing video on YouTube called "Daryl &amp; Rick: You're My Brother (War)" and everyone should totally watch it.**

The next morning was quiet. Daryl woke up first and made breakfast while Beth still slept on. Soon, the smell woke her as well. As they ate, they planned.

"You should fly up and see if you can see anything. You might even see some of the others," Beth told him.

"I don't like being out like that during the day. I'd be easy to spot in the air. I don't want people askin' questions."

"Can't you just fly to the top of the trees and look?"

"You're not gonna give up on this, are you?"

Beth grinned, "Nope."

"Alright, but you're stayin' in the house while I'm up there."

"I'll start getting everything packed up, try to find what all we can use."

"I'll be back in a little bit," he told her, walking out of the house with his wings already out.

He took off slowly once he got off the front porch. He had to be careful since he didn't want to be seen, especially by those at the campfire he had seen the night before. He picked his way up through the trees surrounding the cabin, following the tallest one and sticking close to it. Once he made it as high as he could get without breaking cover, he started looking around. He could see the campfire group on the road, heading down a long stretch that stayed next to the train tracks and coming right towards the cabin. He couldn't see anyone else on the road in either direction. When he looked up the train tracks, he didn't see anything for a long ways off… and then he spotted three people who looked familiar, even from this distance. A familiar hat, a familiar sword, and a familiar stance were walking along the tracks like they didn't have a care in the world, walking away from the cabin. Daryl dropped back to the ground and hid his wings, running back into the house.

"Beth, we gotta go!"

"Did you find anyone?"

"Rick, Carl, and Michonne are on the tracks a couple of miles from here. If we're quick, we can catch 'em by nightfall. Let's get everythin' packed and go."

They had the two backpacks packed within ten minutes. Both were filled with jars of food and whatever spices they could find on top of the stuff they already had with them. They worked in almost complete silence until Daryl went to put on his shirt again.

"Aren't we going to fly? We could get there faster that way."

"No, I'm not flyin' during the day. That group we saw last night is on the road and comin' this way. I don't want 'em to take a shot at us. It's better to walk."

"Alright but you'll take me flying again right?"

"We'll see," he told her, doing up the last button on his shirt and grabbing his stuff.

She nodded, and they walked out the cabin together. They set a quick pace. They wanted to catch up with the others as soon as possible. Soon, six hours had passed, and they were getting close. Beth could see them in the distance, Michonne and Carl walking on the rails while Rick walked between them. Once the three came in sight, Daryl and Beth started jogging and then running. Soon, the three heard the noise they were making and turned around, weapons at the ready until they saw just who was coming towards them. Then the two groups came together in hugs and manly handshakes before continuing their trip down the tracks.

That night saw them cooking jars of vegetables over their small fire while Beth tried to convince Daryl to fly again. This of course saw him having to explain his wings to the group. Finally, he picked up his crossbow, handed it to Beth, and then picked her up before launching into the air. They flew in low circles over the trees, slowly spiraling out from the car they were camped by. It didn't take but ten minutes to find the campfire group… and discover that they were being hunted. A whispered conversation had them flying quickly over the trees back to their camp. They had to warn the others.

Landing and setting Beth down, Daryl said, "We've got company comin'. They're about two miles out and comin' fast. They were talking about splittin' up and surprisin' us… they're were talkin' about what they were gonna do to any women or kids they found…."

"We've got to stop them," Beth told them, shivering slightly from what she had heard.

"Alright, Daryl, can you shoot from the air?"

"Yeah."

"Good, I need you to go up and protect us. Michonne, take Carl and Beth into the woods. Wait until they tell me what they want and then come out. We need to know what they want. We need to be ready for anything. Get going. I'll come up with something to explain why you three aren't in camp."

The other three grabbed their weapons and disappeared into the woods while Rick sat down and stared over the fire at the woods. It didn't take long for him to feel the gun pressing into his head and see several men come to stand in front of him.

"Oh, dearie me. You screwed up. You hear me? You screwed up. Where's the rest of your group? There's what, two or three missing?"

"They're not here," Rick said, trying to stall.

"Well then, where are they?" the man asked, pushing the barrel up against Rick's head.

"They're in the woods. The girls had to go, so my boy's keeping watch for them."

"Well, when they get back, you know what we're gonna do? We're gonna reset the balance of the whole damn universe. I was so lookin' forward for the ball to drop, too. When they get back, we're gonna count it down together, and then you know what we're gonna do? We're gonna have the girls, then the boy, and then, I'm gonna shoot you, and then we'll be square."

"What are you here for?"

"You don't know? You strangled Lou, and then you left him in a bathroom to turn. All of this is your fault, and you should remember that when the others in your group get back."

Just then, Carl, Beth, and Michonne came out of the woods, looking for all the world like they were unarmed except for a long branch held in Carl's hands. The boy walked between the girls, making it seem like he was protecting them. They were quickly surrounded and brought to kneel in front of Rick with one man holding each of the three.

"Well, boys, looks like everyone's here now. How about we count down that ball now? Ten Mississippi…."

He never made it to nine. Just as he finished ten, he dropped with an arrow through his head. The two men not holding the girls and Carl fired in the direction the arrow had come from, but they didn't hear anything fall. Another arrow hit the man holding Beth a few seconds later. Michonne spun around and pounced on her guy, choking him with her bare hands. Carl's guy wrapped his arm tighter around the boy seconds before Beth pulled a knife out of her sleeve and made sure her guy wasn't going to come back. Rick shot one of the two men not left standing and an arrow dropped the other. Daryl flew down right behind the man holding Carl, distracting him for the seconds it took Rick to pull his son away from the man. Daryl threw Michonne her sword, and she killed her guy. Finally, the only one left standing was the one who had grabbed Carl… and the rage in Rick's eyes meant that he wouldn't stay that way for long. Knowing what the men had been planning, not even Beth so much as blinked when Rick put a bullet between that man's eyes. They worked to remove the dead men from the road, removing anything useful from their bodies as they went, mostly weapons and food, and setting it out next to the car. Daryl even found a bow for Beth on one of them, along with a quiver full of arrows. He'd probably have to show her how to use it, but she had learned the crossbow in just under a week, so it shouldn't be a problem.

The five of them got comfortable in the car, Rick and Daryl in the front seats with the other three in the back. They stayed awake late into the night, deciding on a plan for the next day when they would get to Terminus. None of them wanted to go in blind. With the news of Daryl's wings, things changed from Rick's original plan (which was to go in through the back if possible). Several hours before dawn, Daryl was out of the car with a rifle and his crossbow, wings extended once again. He was going to scout the town while it was still dark enough for him to not be seen. The people of Terminus would probably have heard the shots during the fight earlier, so they would probably be waiting for someone the next day. This morning would be the only chance they had to scout before the people would be expecting them. After all, no one in their right mind would travel at night unless a herd was after them.

He flew just under the tree line, staying out of sight of any humans. After all, no one was going to look up when the real dangers were on the ground. It took him maybe fifteen minutes to get to the edge of the town. He saw the entrance, which he really hoped was stronger than it looked… if the town lived up to its signs. As he flew slowly through the woods, he took in the sights and saw the snipers on the single roof… it was less of a town and more of one single building with many branches… a train depot. He noted their odd positions and continued on, deciding to get a map of the depot before he figured out why they were where they were. He spent around an hour flying above the depot, figuring out where the common areas were, before he flew back into the trees. He found an empty clearing and landed, thinking about the way the snipers were set. None of them were looking towards the woods… they were all pointed towards the storage containers and train cars. He needed to get a better view of those containers.

Flying slowly to the edge of the trees, he found a blind spot behind a train car near the fence. He flew over the fence and hovered near the middle of the car, hidden from the snipers. Luckily, there was a hole in the wall just big enough to look in. Other holes in the roof and walls gave him enough light to see. It didn't take him long to see a few familiar faces, two of which were still awake, talking quietly.

"Glenn! Maggie!" he whisper-shouted.

The man's head snapped up, "Daryl? Where…?"

"Keep it down. What's goin' on here?"

"We got here yesterday. They took everything we had except the clothes on our backs and locked us up in here," Maggie told him, giving up on seeing out of the train car. "They even got Daddy's watch, your poncho, and all of our weapons."

"We saw a lot of bones while we were trying to get away. We think they've got all of the containers full of people, and we think they're eating them."

"How many are in there with you?"

"We've got Sasha and Bob and four others. They're friends."

"Then they're friends of ours. We'll help you get out. We've got enough weapons for everyone, but we need to come up with a plan first. I don't have much time here. Rick, Michonne, Beth, and Carl are waitin' on me. Be ready for us. We'll come up with something tonight, and it'll happen tomorrow."

"We'll let everyone know," Glenn told him, moving to wake up the others.

"Tell Beth…," Maggie started before Daryl interrupted.

"I don't have time to play messenger boy. Tell her yourself tomorrow," he told her before disappearing.

He made his way back into the woods, making sure to avoid the patrols that were coming out of the depot now that dawn was just two hours away. He thought it was sloppy, but he wasn't going to complain when it worked in his favor. Fifteen minutes later, he was back at the car. Rick was the only one still awake, waiting on Daryl to get back so no one would be startled awake when he needed to get back in the car. They decided to sit against the car and talk, not willing to speak about Terminus until the others were awake to hear it, so they spoke about what they had been doing since the prison fell and then turned to more recent events.

"Why didn't you tell anyone about your wings?"

"It was just easier that way. I kept outta the way as a kid… bein' the kid with wings woulda changed that."

Rick grinned, "How did Beth find out?"

"We got out together, ended up at this funeral home a couple days ago. Shoulda known it was a trap. It was too clean, ya know? Walkers got in, and I told her to run. When I finally made it out, I saw her pack on the ground and a car drivin' away fast. I couldn't outrun it, so I flew. Caught up to them a few miles down the road and got her out. I shoulda put an arrow in his head. I flew all night with her, trying to get as far away from there as possible. We holed up in this little cabin and found food there. Yesterday morning, she got me to fly up and see if I could find anyone. I saw y'all on the tracks. That's when we starting out after ya."

"Well, you caught us. If you hadn't been here, we would've been dead or worse. You being back with us here, now: that's everything. You're my brother, and she's my little sister."

"Hey, what we did last night, we've all done before. Anyone would've done it. That's not on you."

"That's the thing, Daryl. I don't think anyone would've. You saw what I did to Tyreese. I've never seen you do something like that before. That blind rage, that's part of me. It's ain't all of me, but it's there."

"You did it to keep Carl safe, to keep all of us safe. That's all that matters."

"Daryl, I killed that man in cold blood. The others… they were trying to hurt us, but that last one… I didn't even give him a chance. He might've…."

Daryl interrupted, "He was part of that group, and the look on his face when he was holdin' Carl told us everythin' we needed to know about him. What you did was somethin' that we all would've done. No one blames you for protectin' your family."

"What do I tell Carl when he wakes up? When he killed that kid back at the prison, we all told him that he was wrong. How do I tell him that what I did was right after that?"

"This is different, and you know it. That boy was a kid that didn't know what he was doing, and when he found out, he ran, and when he found the car, he tried to give up. This man was part of a group that was gonna rape and murder everyone here just because you protected yourself and set a trap for them."

Just then, they heard one of the doors opened and looked up to see Michonne and Beth quietly getting out of the car, letting Carl sleep for a little while longer. The four of them started a small fire and made breakfast, the smell of which woke Carl. They were all quiet while they ate, not wanting to talk about the town while they were eating. Once they cleaned up and put out the fire, Daryl told them about the town. He described the layout and the positioning of the snipers, even drawing it out in the dirt on the side of the road. Then, he told them about the rail cars and who were inside them.

"Glen, Maggie, Sasha, and Bob, along with four others they called friends, are in Car A. It's right next to the fence on the other side of the town. They told me they saw bones… they think the people there are eating the people that come in. We need to get them out today."

Rick spoke up, not giving anyone any time to react to the fact their family was still alive, "Beth, can you shoot that bow?"

She nodded, "Daddy didn't like having guns in the house, but he didn't mind bows. He taught Shawn, and then Shawn taught me and Maggie. Shawn had the only real bow in the house, but we made our own whenever we needed one… made our own arrows too, though they weren't as good as the ones Shawn bought for his bow."

"Daryl, could you get all of us onto the roof?" He waited until the man nodded before continuing, "We're going to take out the snipers first. Then, we're going to take out the rest from the roof. We've got enough guns and ammo from the group yesterday to make at least a dent. Daryl and Beth, wait to use your bows until we run out of bullets. Michonne, you'll be watching out backs, taking out anyone who tries to come up behind us. Carl, we'll be getting weapons to the rest of our group and getting them out of the train car once we clear that side of the town. Daryl, was there a fire escape down the side next to the train car?"

"Not on that side, but there was one near to it. Shouldn't be too hard to climb down it and get to the car."

Beth looked like she had just realized something and spoke, "Daryl, give me your vest and shirt and let me see how your wings come out. You're gonna need to be able to let out your wings, but you need the protection of your shirt, too. I can fix it temporarily. We'll figure out something more permanent after all this is over."

Daryl just stared at her for a second while she dug around in her bag for a sewing kit she had found back in the cabin, not moving until she looked up and motioned for him to hurry up. Then, he did as she had asked, turning around so she could see how the wings came out. Once they were fully out, Beth walked up to him and did a quick measurement before moving back to her spot and pulling out a seam ripper, needle, and thread. The vest was first… she removed the seam from one side of the wing decoration and sewed the loose threads down. The shirt took a little bit longer because she had to make new holes in it using Daryl's knife and sew up the edges so it didn't rip more. The whole process took her twenty minutes. Once she was done, she handed the items back to Daryl, urging him to try them. He put them on and tried opening his wings… they came through the new holes easily. He flapped them a few times before hiding them again, giving a nod to Beth to tell her that it would do.

Rick, Carl, and Michonne watched this interaction, amused at the silent conversation happening before their eyes. None of them were sure of the relationship between the two, but they knew there was something between them… either sibling or something else.

"Let's go," Rick stated after a few minutes of silence, moving to pack up the weapons they had set out the night before.

The others followed his lead, packing up everything useful that they could fit in their packs before they started going through the woods. They didn't want to be seen until it was too late for the people in Terminus to do anything. As they got closer to the depot, they found a good place to bury their packs, keeping only the weapons and ammo with them. They would come back for the supplies later. Then, they set their sights on the chain link fence that separated them from the depot, each of them silent as they gathered their thoughts. All of them had survived against incredible odds, finding their family each time, fighting when others would have faltered. This wasn't going to be easy. No, this was war.


End file.
